Several people asked for a step-by-step guide on how I shoot my cinematic headshots at night. In this post, I will detail each step I took to deliver a natural-looking, timeless cinematic headshot for my cousin Khalid AlMutawa.

Location

The first step in capturing cinematic headshots is to scout for a location. I focus on two key factors when choosing a spot. First, I look for a spot where no ambient lights can light my subject. Second, I seek a location that, when blurred or out of focus, offers beautiful colours that will harmonize well with my subject's clothing and skin tone. It doesn't matter if the location has an ugly background; what truly matters is the colours it can produce.

In the images below, you can see that I took the photo on the left with the background in focus. I then blurred the background using manual focus to assess the colours it provided and determine if this location is suitable for cinematic headshots at night.

Gear

These are the pieces of equipment I use for producing my cinematic headshots. I rely on the Nikon D850 for several reasons, primarily because of its high-sync speed capability and its ability to create stunning colours without editing. I also use the Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8 lens, which, at 200mm with a wide aperture, achieves a narrow depth of field that beautifully blurs the background while compressing it without distorting my subject.

The two Speedlights I use are the Nikon SB-5000 because of their high-sync capabilities and ease of use. I connect my Speedlights with my camera using Godox X1T-N for Nikon because of its ease of use and reliability. I use Manfrotto softboxes because they're easy to assemble, given that I usually shoot my cinematic headshots outdoors.

Wardrobe

I always ask my subjects to wear tops that match or complement the background colours using a colour harmony scheme. For this cinematic headshot, I asked my cousin Khalid to wear a suit.

Makeup and Hairstyle

I appreciate the natural look of a person without makeup or with only minimal makeup, as it reflects authenticity. However, it's essential to think about the type of cinematic headshots you are aiming for. For instance, a beauty cinematic headshot photoshoot typically requires a significant amount of makeup, ideally applied by a professional makeup artist.

Camera Settings

I typically use an ISO between 100 and 400. For the aperture, I prefer an aperture between f/3.2 and f/4 because an aperture of f/2.8 results in a very narrow depth of field, that even the slightest movement from the subjects can blur their features.

The shutter speed varies based on the background. If I want a darker background, I increase the shutter speed; conversely, if I want a brighter background, I decrease the shutter speed.

White balance is not a significant concern for me since I shoot in RAW format. However, I find the Auto white balance to be satisfactory.

For Khalid's image, I used the following settings:

Cinematic headshots taken at night present two main challenges, particularly when using Speedlights. The first challenge is that the ambient light is very low, resulting in your subject standing out against a black background. While this effect can work if it's what you're aiming for, cinematic headshots typically seek to create an interesting, blurred background. The second challenge involves focusing: Speedlights usually lack modeling lights, which means it can be difficult for the camera's autofocus to lock onto the subject in low-light conditions.

I successfully tackled the first challenge by mixing flash with ambient light. You can control ambient light by adjusting your ISO, aperture, and shutter speed. On the other hand, you can control Speedlights or strobes using ISO, aperture, and flash power. The only variable that you can adjust to mix ambient light with Speedlights is the shutter speed. A faster shutter speed captures less ambient light, while a slower shutter speed captures more ambient light.

When I shot my model at a shutter speed of 1/250th of a second, with a wide aperture and an ISO of 100, there wasn't enough ambient light in the image, resulting in a completely black background. However, when I used a slower shutter speed of 1/15th of a second, I was able to capture those incredible colours in the background.

You might be wondering if a shutter speed of 1/15th of a second is too slow, especially when using a 200mm lens without a tripod, to capture a sharp image. The answer is yes, it is indeed too slow. Let me explain it.

When I expose for ambient light with a shutter speed of 1/15th of a second, the image would typically appear blurry unless I were using a tripod. However, it's important to remember that a Speedlight can freeze motion primarily because it produces a very brief burst of intense light, which means that anything illuminated by my Speedlights will be sharp and clear.

In this scenario, my model was only exposed to the light from the Speedlight, ensuring that they remained in sharp focus. The background, however, was exposed to ambient light, which resulted in some motion blur due to the slow shutter speed. This effect enhances the image by adding vibrant colours and a dynamic feel, especially in low light at night.

When I illuminate my subject with both ambient light and a flash simultaneously, the result is a captivating ghostly effect, often referred to as an apparition. Therefore, it is essential to choose a location with no ambient light on your subject.

The second challenge can be addressed using several methods. One option is to focus your camera manually, or you can use a modeling light to illuminate your subject for focusing. Since speedlights do not have built-in modeling lights, I had an assistant shine a mobile flashlight on the model while I focused my camera. After achieving focus, I would have the assistant remove the flashlight before pressing the shutter release button.

Process

The key light should be positioned at a 45-degree angle from your subject and elevated. Be careful not to raise it too high, as this could cause you to lose the catchlight in the eyes.

The rim light should be placed 180 degrees from the key light to add definition to the shadowed side of the subject and help separate it from the background.

Below is a diagram of the lighting setup I used:

First, I adjust the background exposure using the shutter speed. Once I am satisfied with the background, I turn on my Speedlights and adjust their power as needed, or I use a light meter to expose my subject properly.

Posing

I prefer to position my subjects on one side of the frame, capturing their head and shoulders while cropping the top of their heads. However, I also occasionally center them in the middle of the image. Sometimes, I tilt the camera to create interesting cinematic effects, as I did in Khalid's picture.

Post-processing

Culling images can be the most challenging part of a photoshoot. There comes a moment when every photo feels magical, making it hard to choose the best ones.

During this shoot, I captured 30 images. I rated two of them as five stars and nine as four stars in Adobe Lightroom.

Here are the best 16 images presented side by side.

These images are straight out of the camera in JPEG format. As you can see, they can be delivered to your client without any post-processing if preferred. They look fabulous as they are. However, with post-processing, you can achieve a better cinematic look.

Adobe Lightroom

In the develop module, I do the following:

• Basic adjustments such as white balance, exposure, highlight, shadow, black, and white.
• Tone curve using lights and darks (If I find the image too contrasty, I postpone this step and later adjust it in Adobe Photoshop)

Once done with Adobe Lightroom, you can deliver the images to your client. However, I like to edit more in Adobe Photoshop to achieve a better cinematic look.

Adobe Photoshop

The final step of my post-processing takes place in Adobe Photoshop. I typically follow a non-destructive workflow during this process.:

• Correction Layer (Correct major distractions in the image)
• Frequency Separation (Correct colour toning and skin blemish healing, using a low flow brush for more natural results)
• Micro (corrective) Dodge and Burn, followed by Macro (contour) Dodge and Burn (this gives flawless natural skin tone)
• Skin Colour Adjustments
• Eyes Enhancement (using dodge and burn and high-pass filter to increase the sharpness)
• Further Corrections (e.g., Stray Hair)
• Merge all the layers
• Adjust the contrast using Adobe Photoshop's auto-contrast and/or curves
• Liquify, if needed (I rarely liquify the face in my cinematic headshot to keep it as natural as possible)
• Colour tone, if needed

Take a moment to appreciate the outcome of your efforts. Observe how your subject transforms into a captivating cinematic scene, radiating an alluring quality that draws the eye. The intricate details and vibrant colours come together to create a visual masterpiece that tells a story all on its own.

Here is a before-and-after comparison of the image, showing the final results clearly.

I hope you learned a lot from this blog. If you are interested in a one-on-one training session, drop me a direct message on my Instagram account.